Germany's upper parliament has also given final approval to the defense and borrowing package.

Germany's future government plans to relax strict debt rules to increase defense spending and establish a massive infrastructure fund aimed at revitalizing the country's largest economy have received approval from the Bundesrat, the upper house of the German Parliament. The measure, proposed by prospective Chancellor Friedrich Merz, was approved by the assembly representing Germany's 16 state governments with the necessary two-thirds majority.

Conservative leader Merz, who won last month's elections, alongside potential center-left coalition partners, emphasizes the urgency of strengthening Germany's long-neglected military amid rising doubts about the U.S.'s commitment to the transatlantic alliance. The plans require a two-thirds majority in both houses of Parliament, as they involve changes to Germany's stringent borrowing rules, known as the "debt brake," which allow new borrowing of only 0.35% of the annual gross domestic product.